Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for filling tanks with pressurized gas.
The invention relates more particularly to a method for filling tanks with pressurized gas, notably pressurized hydrogen, via a filling station comprising several containers for storing gas under pressure and a fluidic circuit for transferring the gas from the containers to the tanks by pressure equalizing, the circuit comprising a first end to which the containers are connected in parallel, and a second end equipped with a transfer pipe intended to be connected removably to the tank(s) for filling, the circuit comprising, arranged in series between the first end and the second end, a first isolation valve, a flow or pressure regulating member, and a second isolation valve, the method comprising a filling of a first tank.
The invention advantageously applies to the rapid (in a few minutes) filling of tanks with hydrogen under pressure (of between 200 and 1000 bar for example). The invention notably applies to the filling of vehicle fuel tanks.
Related Art
When a hydrogen tank is being filled with gas under pressure, the compression of the gas in the tank causes heating that may exceed the operational limits of the tank materials.
In order to optimize these fillings, one known technique is to fill the tanks “in cascade”, namely by successive pressure equalizing operations between the tank for filling and containers of pressurized gas at increasing pressure. This filling may also be supplemented and/or assisted by a compressor. The gas may also be cooled during the filling.
Documents FR2928716A1 and FR2919375A1 describe two nonlimiting examples of such filling methods.
Document WO2011/049466A1 describes a filling station using gas from the circuit to perform leak tests.
There is on-going interest in improving the efficiency and costs of such filling stations.